Each week we pick great dog training videos from Youtube and share them here. These first videos will all focus on puppy training. We hope that you find them helpful when training your puppies.

Carolyn: Hello, Jane. Ada is so lovely. How long have you had her?

Jane: We had her since she was about nine weeks.

Carolyn: So what’s next with her and the training?

Jane: We want to take her out on a lead, so we need to get her a collar.

Carolyn: Well, a secret to getting a collar is to get one that fits her nail. So just get a small light weight one, don’t get one she’s going to grow into eventually, because that’s just going to be too big and heavy. And to start with use one that’s got the clips on it. Just because it’s going to be a lot easier to introduce it to her, because you can just put it on and clip it together rather than fiddling with buckets which can just scare them a bit when they’re wearing a collar for the first time. And then when you get a lead as well just get one, again that’s just nice and lightweight so she’s hardly going to feel it and that will just clip easily onto the collar, and then you’re ready to go.

Jane: So how should I get her used to a collar and lead?

Carolyn: Well, I’m going to show you. So let’s get Ada and let’s go and do some training.

Jane: Okay.

Carolyn: So now I want to introduce the collar. What you want to do is put on the collar and then immediately the collar goes on, she gets a treat. She needs to realize that the collar means good stuff. Don’t put the collar on and then take it off and then give her a treat, otherwise all your rewarding at all is having the collar off obviously. So you put it on nice and quietly. And this is where you’re going to find the real advantage of the clips because you don’t have to mess around with the buckles. Just do it nice and quietly, put it around her neck, no fuss. This is the advantage of the clips because you don’t have to wrestle with the buckles. So the clip goes on, the minute the clip’s on, she get a treat. See, don’t you look smart in your new collar. And then straight away the collar can come back off again.

And then you can build up the length of time that she’s wearing the collar for until she’s wearing it for longer and longer periods of time. But just leave it off when you’re in the house just in case she gets caught up on things like that. But she’ll need it when she goes out and about with her ID details on when you’re a grown up dog.

So once she’s happy wearing her collar, you can introduce the lead. And just start off in the house. Don’t straightaway try and go out and about. But I want you to think about the lead as just a safety device so that she doesn’t run off anywhere. Not something that you pull her around by. You want a dog that doesn’t pull on the lid, so you don’t start by pulling first.

So first of all clip on the lid. So you can have a treat while I put that on there. And the minute you got the lead’s clipped on just using your treat, not pulling on the lead, just lower besides you so she’s getting used to walking with the lead and with the collar attached. As well as doing it with a treat, you’ve got perfect breed, you’ve got a little terrier so they’re really, really into toys, so you could do it with a toy as well. So again just using the toy, just luring her along and she’s just going to walk beside you, straightaway she’s happy using her collar and lead without any fuss whatsoever.

So your turn. All yours. That’s the lead, using the treats. Now remember the most important thing don’t pull lead. If that lead’s ever tight use the treat to lure her back to where you want and then carry on walking. That’s it. Just keep your hand down. That’s lovely. That’s really nice. Well done.

So all you’re doing is just getting her used to moving around with the collar and lead on beside you, without you pulling. So have another go, grab a little bit more liver cake. Fantastic. And remember just keep your hand down so she doesn’t jump up at you. That’s really good. And she’s just learning that she can move around with the collar and lead and that lead’s never something that she’s going to pull on. Well done.

That was really well done. That’s made a really good start for her. She’s learned that she can move up and down with the collar and lead on, but it’s nothing to be worried about, and that she doesn’t pull on it. So practice that everywhere in the house and practice out in the garden and then you’re ready to go out and about.